Scrapbook Pictures-Promotion and Gold Belt

I had to add some pages to the small dollar store scrapbook so I have elastic holding it together, for now. I also added a band of elastic to help keep it closed as it is....ballooning. I like how the binding elastic looks like a white belt!! Eventually I think I will have to cut the binding apart completely and just have an open bound book. It was a buck...I can't complain. I've made journals in the past so that knowledge is coming in pretty darned handy right now.

Thankfully we all performed as a group which was a HUGE relief! The BF took the photos but claims to not have been able to get a view to take video...huh...alrighty then.

Until next time...

Mystery Skien swap knittins revealed!

My Mystery Skien recipient recieved her package today so it is now safe for me to post the pictures I took without ruining any surprises. :) Wing of the Moth SCARF pattern-pics of the scarf being blocked...

...And me modeling it. :)

Until next time...

Gold Belt!!!

YEEEeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaa-hOooooooooooooooo!

I did it! I did it! I got me belt and it was quick and surprisingly painless! Can you find me? Hint: I am the shortest one of my class!!!

I got my gold belt!!
The BF actually came with me *SHOCKED* and took photos! Although he did not shoot any video which dissapointed me...at least I have the stills. There will be other promotions to video.

Until next time...

Exercise = No hunger....HUMmmmm...

It's an interesting notion. I exercised this morning (practicing my wheel kick and defensive front kicks) and when I was done...I was not hungry anymore. I remember reading somewhere that when you exercise you arn't hungry. By golly...it was right!
So when I feel like I am being a total chow hound...I should just exercise. What a way to get the mind off the food!!!

In other news...

I slept well last night. I think mostly because I was just totally exhausted from not sleeping well the past week. This is good because I am sooooooooo nervous about promotion night tonight. *chewing on finger nails* My instructor says we shouldn't worry about it because we've already taken the tests...and that was to come to class twice a week and work up a sweat. Oye...tell me about it. This is our chance to show off what we have learned and fly up a belt color. Excited and nevious...not a good combination (HUuuuuuuuuuuurl!!!)

I noticed that the BF bought 100% TP when he went grocery shoppin last night. Huh...coolness!!

I've got two more panels to do on that afgahn I am working on for Mum. I need a size N crochet hook to crochet the pieces together with. I though I might have it but when I looked....NOPE!

Until next time...

Favorite yarn-fugly yarn...spuckly even...

I gotta say, my most favorite yarn, that I have ever had the pleasure to touch, has been merino blended with silk (or any other soft wool blended with silk)...Oh. My. Goddess. Softness with a sparkle that is TO DIE FOR! That is where I got my inspiration for the alpaca and silk yarn I have been spinning and knitting into a Wing of the Moth shawl. Of which...with less than 10 rows to go...I have put aside for now. You say "Only 10 to go!? GO!-GO!-GO! KNIT LIKE THE WIND!" but then I say "It takes an hour a row to do now because of the sheer SIZE of the shawl now. WHEW...heavy and warm...with spring in full swing it gets hot under that thing!!" Okay...did I just do one hell of a nifty rhyme?! LMAO!! YEeeeeeeeaaaaaahhh!! Call me Shakespear-ella!! ;-P

I would have blended the silk with the alpaca if I had had the means to do so. Instead I just plied them together.

Here is some shown at this here link of which the purple and blue are GORGI-OUS! There is another nice picture of some silk wool blended yarn here too! OMG look at that! DROooooooool!!! *pat-pat-pat* Drool and electronics DO NOT MIX. ZZZZZzzzzzap!

My least favorite has to be Mohair...I found out the hard way that mohair and I do not get along. AS I was cleaning a raw adult mohair fleece (which turned out to be course as hell!!), I broke out in hives where my arms came in contact. Nice sheen, but a pain in the arms (HA!) to clean up and card! Even kid mohair is ruff to me. Blah. Besides that, I can get the same sort of sheen out of lincoln longhair...even alpaca for a lot less mo-nay! SPUCK!

Until next time...

Thirsty Thursday...

I have an unbearable thirst for CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!!!

ehn ehn ehn (claws move in the air)

Awwwww...cute wittle twurtle!!! I want one!!

Until next time...

Goodwill Treasure Finds!!! And a little complaining...as usual

OMG look at what I found at Goodwill today!! I was able to make it to the east side store right after they opened and before the retiree's came through (antique hunters). I found EIGHT 50 gram skiens of some italian yarn in a beautiful hunter green priced at...brace yourself...$.69 each!!!!!! *SQUEELS* OH MY GOD(dess)!!! It is soft and shiney made from Bomull, Lin, and Akryl of which I have no idea what those are but the yarn is soft and shiney, plus I really can't complain at $.69 a skien!!

Then I found TWO Aquascene 2 tanks, one with a light, and the other without a light but with a lot of goodies. I got two new air pumps to boot-one with each. One I made into Skye's new home, and the other I am gonna set up for a betta for a friend for her birthday. She has been saying she's been wanting another one...so here I go to set it up for her! This tank is much bigger than what Skye was in...and I don't think he really knows what to do with all the space he has now!! LMAO!

Now for the complaining....

Must be nice to be rich. Argh! I saw today that the Woolee winder has gone up to $185!!! There is NO WAY I would pay that much for that little bit of equipment that may or may not work correctly. *faint* I had been wanting one, but even at the old price of $150 I was hesitant to purchase it. Sheez. I can do without it. I just need a jumbo kit for the kiwi...or a bigger wheel which I am seriously considering. That thunkita noise coming from the Kiwi is driving me up the wall!!

To end on a positive note...kinda...

I bought myself 4.5 pounds of raw white alpaca blanket fleece. What new years resolution?? LMAO!!! I cannot wait to get my hands in that! I won it from an Ebay auction so I paid a lot less than I would normally would have for so much fiber. NICE!!

Okay I have to get off this thing and practice my karate for tomorrows promotion!! I am trying my darndest to convience the BF to come with me so he can shoot some digital video of the session so that I can send it to Mum so she can see what I am learning. But I dunno if he will or not. I have to push and fight with him to do anything with me and I am really sick and tired of doing that. He really hasn't been too supportive of me lately...and I'm a tad paterved. Now I cannot sleep because he figgits all flippin night long! ARGH!!! I haven't slept well all week because of it! Sleeper sofa...here I come! He won't see a doctor about anything, even though he has health insurance. Now one side of his face is swollen because of a tooth absest ( he doesn't brush his teeth and his teeth look nasty-very nasty...and then he wonders why I won't french it with him....eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwaaaah!!!!!!!).

MEN!!! *pulls hair out*

Until next time...

You know you are addicted to knitting when...

When you go and knit a "cat sock" for the cat, and actually...somehow...manage to get it on the cat...or the cat in the sock...!!!!!!!!

Courtesy of Cute Overload

No, this is not my cat. Allas! I am allergic the them.

Until next time...

Wacky Wednesday on a cold Wisconsin Day

It's Wednesday and only one and a half days till the start of spring break! I cannto wait for the time off...sheez. I only hope that the weather turns sunny for the upcoming week because I wanna bike all over the place! WHY? Because I can.

Ummm...okay...I am having a David Caruso day...ummm....YUM! I need my CSI fix! Where is my CSI DVD?! Netflix has gotten slow in thier delievery....grrrrrrrrr. I've seen earlier photos of this man and I gotta say...I is much more attracted to the older photos than the younger ones. AHHhhh , mature and dignified....THAT is what I am missing in my life. Sheez.

I dunno what is up with my Kiwi spinning wheel. It's gor a mysterious thunkita-thunk that I cannot seem to fix and it is driving me mad! I've had it under a year so maybe I can still get some parts under warrenty. I'd really like to have a Louet s10 double treddle, but since I bought myself a bike instead, that will have to wait a while.

*thunkita-thunkita-thunkita*

Until next time...

Rickson Gracie in Fight Science (TV show)

So THAT is what ju-jit-su is all about!! Kick ass...well at least passive kick ass anyways.
(video)

National Geographic Channel - Fight Science Trailer

YEEEEEEEEeeeeeaaaaaaaaah!! I wanna see that but Netflix doesn't have it! *pouting-big time*
(video)

How Many Group Members to Change A Lightbulb

This is soooooooo true!!!

------------------------------------------------

How many Group members does it take to change a lightbulb?

One to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been
changed.

Fourteen to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how
the light bulb could have been changed differently.

Seven to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs.

Seven more to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about
changing light bulbs.

Three to correct spelling/grammar errors.

Six to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb".

Another six to condemn those six as stupid.

Fifteen to claim experience in the lighting industry and give the
correct spelling.

Nineteen to post that this group is not about light bulbs and to
please take this discussion to a lightbulb (or light bulb) forum.

Eleven to defend the posting to the group saying that we all use
light bulbs and therefore the posts are relevant to this group.

Thirty six to debate which method of changing light bulbs is
superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light
bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are faulty.

Seven to post URLs where one can see examples of different light
bulbs.

Four to post that the URLs were posted incorrectly and then post the
corrected URL.

Three to post about links they found from the URLs that are relevant
to this group which makes light bulbs relevant to this group.

Thirteen to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety
including all headers and signatures, and add "Me too".

Five to post to the group that they will no longer post because they
cannot handle the light bulb controversy.

Four to say "didn't we go through this already a short time ago?"

Thirteen to say "do a Google search on light bulbs before posting
questions about light bulbs."

Three to tell a funny story about their cat and a light bulb.

AND

One group lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now
with something unrelated and start it all over again.

WOooooo second stripe on white belt!!

I got a second stripe on my white belt! WOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo! Plus on my "report card" there was a little note that said "You've got great energy and endurance, keep up the great work!" Sweetness!
At class today everything seemed to be getting better. I was actually able to do the knife hand block better than most of my fellow white belts because I have been practicing. *pats self on back* THAT felt GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

Today we learned the wheel kick. Kicking with the back leg up and around the front. I dropped off my check for the next month of classes. WHEW....sorry to see it go but happy to keep goin!

Until next time...

Felting experimentation: Lincoln longwool

OOOh this wool creates some thick felt...perfect for a durable all weather bicycle handle bag!
I found a pattern I like at knitty.com . I want to make mine turquoise, royal blue, purple, with a touch of golden yellow. I'm not sure how it will turn out if I navajo ply it. *scratching head*

This was some lincoln that I spun up months and months ago that was navajo plyed and about worsted wieght, knit on size 13 needles. It lost about two inches when felted (which I did by hand and BOY are my hand cleaner than they have ever been!! Squeaky clean!!). This one will get dubbed a dish washing cloth since it is still very large and thick. I plan on using the pattern at knitty, but making the bag more box like than bag. I want a wider bottom and shorter sides. SO I will just add more rows to the bottom and stop when it is two inches higher than I will want. Then when it is felted and dry, I will spritz with mineral oil to make it water proof. I could not think of any other kind of oil that would be suitable to waterproofing felt.

Dinner time!!

Until next time...

I have to rant (AGAIN?!)

I am trying really hard to be a good SP10 pal but the person I am supposed to spoil is not giving me anything to bite on. *sigh* Everytime I try to find something the person really wants...I get a scattered answer. There is no excitment coming from thier end. I don't understand it at all.

I dunno, chocolate and some online Gift Certificates seems to be the only way to go at this point. *Blinks...blankly*

Anyone got some useful tips for me? I am usually really good with these secret things, but when you get someone who gives you a feeling of they really don't care one way or another...it's a tad bothersome.

Until next time...

Went biking to the library and then some...

Whew! Am I tired!


I bike around 3 1/2 miles this afternoon going to the library to return a majorly overdue book and to drop in on the BF doing laundry at the Mart down the street (where the W icon is). This is part of the "scenic" bike route in Monona. Not very scenic to me...just a bunch of flippin houses that are blocking the view of the lake!! I guess the number balloons are mile counters. You can track your biking/running/walking too at http://www.mapmyrun.com/ .

I did register my back for a "license" just in case it gets stolen or something bad like that. Crossing fingers. Now I need to look into bike insurance...yes there is such a thing.

Right now I am dying some lincoln longwool to spin up into worsted yarn to knit a saddle back with and eventually felt it. I am dying the wool then spinnin it for once. I want some color on the wheel! I am doing turquoise, lilac purple, and a bit of golden yellow splahed in between color changes. Why? It's pretty. Yemaya strikes again!

Until next time...

Looking for a bag pattern...

My bike needs a pouch to carry junk in. I was thinking a stiff, felted saddle bag with a button on and off handle. I haven't found too much that I like, although I really like the raffia bag at knitty. It looks like a basket which would be awesome! Except...where to get raffia to knit with?! *scratching head*

I like the saddle bag idea because then I could take the bag off the bike and carry it with me if I need too and hooking it to the front of the bike keeps it out of my knees way of peddeling. Anyone got any pattern links for me to check out?

I biked down to the LYS to knit for a while. I went the back way as it is down hill all the way and through the back path of the Leapold Nature Center where bikes are allowed on the dirt paths. I did have to get off and walk the bike as I lost the momentum but that is okay. Slow down to enjoy the day and the nature. Lots of geese and other water foul were camping out.s

Until next time...